Tired of hearing about NBA rookies wearing Hello Kitty backpacks, singing Beyonce songs or having to get Krispy Kreme donuts, David Stern sent out a memo late last year saying NBA “Hazing” would not be tolerated. But in some form or fashion it will continue to exist. Even some of the league’s greatest, like Kobe Bryant, had to endure the hazing and make 2 am trips to Krispy Kreme.
His ex rookie teammate Cedric Ceballos was a guest on TMZ sports and talked about the hazing the teenage Kobe went through back in 96.
“We’d make him chase balls into the stands of the huge arenas, or take bags off the plane in the freezing cold. Or we’d say, ‘I need coffee from Starbucks and donuts from Krispy Kreme’ — and it’d be 2am in a town we just arrived in.”
Ced also said it was Kobe’s closest teammate, Eddie Jones, that was behind a lot of it. One of the things the EJ made Kobe do was bring him a Gatorade before every game. But the hazing didn’t stop with the current Laker roster.
“Even the veterans who are retired … James Worthy, Kareem, Wilt Chamberlain … all those guys came down to give him a little bit of rookie hazing, knowing that he was going to be the great player he is.”
Cedric then made sure to point out that Kobe was a good sport and they never did anything to “belittle” other players.
In honor of one of my favorite Lakers of all-time. Check out this mix I made over a decade ago of the 95 Lakers. The song is “Flow On” by Cedric.
Source: TMZ